Studies show that chronic drinking not only affects your physical but also your mental wellbeing. This article points out the health effects associated with too much alcohol drinking.
- Damaging the liver
Too much of alcohol is detrimental to the health of your liver. This is because alcohol is a toxin itself, causing the building up of toxins in the blood. The work of the liver is to remove such toxins from the blood. When there’s too much alcohol in the blood, the liver is unable to remove it and this may cause the death of liver cells.
This leads to scarring of the liver, a condition called liver cirrhosis. Also, alcohol makes the liver to swell thus making it function abnormally. As a result, alcoholics suffer from fatty liver disease.
2. Causes heart diseases
The main function of the heart is to pump blood to all parts of the body. When alcohol finds its way to the bloodstream, it causes unnecessary clotting as well as too many fats in the blood.
Alcohol addiction makes the fats accumulate in the heart thus raising the cholesterol levels, which is dangerous to the health of your heart. It’s detrimental to your health since your heart can no longer work normally. Studies show that many chronic drinkers have succumbed to heart diseases in the long run.
3. Pancreatitis
Consumption of too much alcohol results to pancreatitis which is a painful inflammation of the pancreas and swelling of blood vessels in the pancreas.
Alcohol consumption forces the pancreas to produce toxic substances like pro-enzymes and acetaldehyde caused by alcohol injury. This causes pancreatitis, a very serious condition that needs immediate hospitalization.
4. Digestive system impairments
Alcohol is a major cause of gastrointestinal problems especially ulcers. When alcohol inflames the stomach linings (a condition called gastritis), you may experience endless heartburns, acid reflux and stomach ulcers.
The enlarged esophagus from the inflamed liver also causes internal bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract.
5. Distraction of sleep patterns
Gobbling down several drinks may send you to a deep sleep immediately. Nevertheless, after you sober up you may note that you are deprived of sleep. In other words, you are unable to stay asleep for recommended hours. What happens is that booze lowers the quality of your sleep.
Studies have also shown that alcoholism leads to increased snoring and sleep apnea. This prevents you from having a good night’s rest.
6. Causes immune system problems
Too much binge drinking weakens your immune system by making your white blood cells count to go down. As a result, your body is unable to fight infections such as pneumonia and tuberculosis.
Each trace of alcohol in the bloodstream traps the blood cells such as platelets, white blood cells, and red blood cells in the spleen. This hinders them from performing their roles as required leading to dysfunction of the immune system.
Consumption of alcohol for a long time also lowers the production of white blood cells in the body. This predisposes you to infections like HIV, TB, pneumonia and other conditions.
Bottom Line
Once your body gets addicted to alcohol, serious health concerns must follow. Alcohol negatively affects each and every part of your body including your heart, liver, pancreas and the digestive system. It’s important to limit alcohol consumption to avoid the above health effects.